Simply Know: June 2009

Saturday, June 27, 2009

USB Ports: Enable / Disable in WinXP

USB keys are not just a popular way to sneak data out from companies, unhappy employees may use USB ports for delivering trojans or spyware into the company networks.

Now some smart admins disable usb drive by changing the BIOS settings and then lock the BIOS using passwords. Some not so-smart admins fix tapes over the USB ports to prevent employees from inserting any USB device into their computer.

However, both these approaches can prove to be counter-productives as your staff can no longer use USB keyboards, wireless mouse, digital cameras, camcorders, scanners, printers or even USB microphones to their computers.

So a more reasonable option for sysadmins is to disable write access to USB port so that data files cannot be written to the mass storage device. The USB thumb drive will be read-only.

Open the Windows Registry and open the following key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\ Control\StorageDevicePolicies

Now add a new DWORD called WriteProtect and put the value as 0 to disable write privileges to the USB port. To reverse the step, either delete the WriteProtect REG_DWORD or toggle the value to 1 which will enable the port.

Remember that the above trick works only with Windows XP SP2.

If you like to go a step further and disable users from connecting USB storage devices to their computers, here's the trick:

Open registry and navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet \Services\UsbStor

Now in the right pane, double-click Start and type 4 in the Value data box (Hexadecimal) and quite the registry editor. To enable the USB storage devices, change the Start value back to 3.

No matter how good the protection tricks are, determined people always find workarounds. Here are some of the tricks that may render the above methods unusable:

» Employee may boot computer using a LiveCD like Knoppix or Ubuntu so the USB drives are again available to him for writing.

» They could open the computer chasis, take the battery out to reset the BIOS settings.

» Some may even invest in a PS2 to USB port converter.

» If he manages to get admin access for a temporary period (like installing software), he may undo the registry edits.

The cat-mouse game will never end. USB drives will remain a headache for the sysadmins for some time. However, Windows Vista will make life much simpler for IT administrators. There's a new Policy in Vista that allows USB keyboards or mouse to be used but not any USB devices.

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Friday, June 26, 2009

MJ never dies

Michael Joseph Jackson

MJ never dies, He lives in World's Music...

We Miss You...

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Five-year-old on life support for over a year

In Guwahati, people have taken to the streets but for a good cause. They are collecting money for a child battling to come out of artificial respiration for over a year now, and whose family is struggling to meet the crippling expenses to keep their child alive.

Suffering from Japanese encephalitis, 5-year-old Hrittik has been under artificial respiration for over a year now.

"The disease per se is not unusual but the situation he is in is unusual. As of now we can't say how long it will take to take him out of ventilation. They have lost everything in the process," said Dr Prakritish Bora.

The family is now hoping for a miracle. They've run out of money, the treatment is running on credit and the hospital is finding it difficult to sustain it further.

"One year we managed but now it's getting impossible. Hope we get help from people now. He looks at me gets emotional with tears in his eyes. I have a two-year-old who lives with my relatives. I have no time for him," said Hrittik's mother, Kalyani Deka.

Guwahati residents led by one of Assam's icon, musician Zubeen Garg, are out on the streets collecting funds for Hrittik whose parents have been in this ward for the last one year hoping that they would be able to take him back home someday.

Help Hrittik

Send donations to:
Hrittik Kashyap
C/O Dilip Kr Deka,
Intensive Care Unit,
International Hospital,
Lotus Tower, Christian Basti,
G S Road, Guwahati - 5

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Monday, June 22, 2009

Now Google understands Farsi

Now, Google added Persian (Farsi) to Google Translate. This means you can now translate any text from Persian into English and from English into Persian — whether it’s a news story, a website, a blog, an email, a tweet or a Facebook message.

The service is available free at http://translate.google.com.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Need $25,000 ?

Papa John’s founder John Schnatter will give you $25,000 of his dough if you help him find the 1972 Z28 Camaro he sold to launch his pizza empire.

Schnatter cruised through Atlanta Thursday — part of a national tour — to promote the search for his beloved car. He hasn’t seen the Camaro since selling it for $2,800 in 1983.

It’s gold with large black stripes, with a split bumper and sunroof. You can get more particulars at papasroadtrip.com. And no, he doesn’t have the VIN number.

“We’ve looked high and low for the car,” said Schnatter, 47, who now drives a replica of the Camaro, along with an Escalade.

“Somebody somewhere is going to think of something and they’re going to help me find that car. I love the replica but I want that car. You want to see a grown man cry? It’ll happen when I find it.”

Of course, the search doubles as a publicity stunt highlighting Papa John’s 25th anniversary.

“It’s got an element of that,” Schnatter said.

Schnatter was a 16-year-old dishwasher at a pizza place in Jeffersonville, Ind., when he bought the car for $1,600. He replaced the engine, brakes, and differential.

“That car got me through high school and college,” he said.

In 1984, Schnatter sold the car to buy used restaurant equipment and began selling pizzas out of a converted broom closet in his dad’s tavern, Mick’s Lounge.

“I didn’t have a choice,” he said about selling the car. “When the guy drove off, I couldn’t even look at it.”

Schnatter kicked off his road trip Wednesday at Papa John’s headquarters in Louisville. He’ll be in Houston on Friday, Dallas on Saturday.

On Thursday, he visited some of the 86 Papa John’s stores in metro Atlanta and rode the Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia.

“I got my tail kicked,” he said. “I hadn’t been on a roller coaster in 10 years, and I just wasn’t prepared for it.”

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Friday, June 19, 2009

What a Day !!

At 12hrs 34 minutes and 56 seconds on the 7th of August this year, the time and date will be

12:34:56 07/08/09 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

This will never happen in your life again !!!

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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Alltop Aggregator !!!

Making a collection of web feeds accessible in one spot is known as aggregation. Alltop is one of this.

You can get all the fresh info categorized like Work, Living, Culture, etc. If you want to know what’s happening in “India”. Just visit http://india.alltop.com/. Likewise, you can find all the new info on your interest.

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Disposable E-mail Accounts

List of some of known websites where you can get an e-mail account both quickly and for free. It will prevent your email account from spam.

10 Minute E-mail Link
E4ward Link
EndJunk Link
Gish Puppy Link
Jetable Link
Kasmail Link
Mailinator Link
Mail Moat Link
My Trash Mail Link
SneakeMail Link
Soodonims Link
Spamex Link
Spam Motel Link
Spam Gourmet Link
Trash Mail Link

Where can we use disposable e-mail address?
Maybe we want to sign up for a site which requires that we provide an e-mail address to send a validation e-mail to. And maybe we don’t want to give up our real e-mail address and end up on a bunch of spam lists.

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